Summer 2023 – COVID-19 Plans and Updates

Kingswood recommends, but does not require, all campers to be vaccinated against Covid.

Yes, all campers will need to take a Covid test before coming to camp. 

A rapid antigen test is sufficient. It should be given the day you begin your travel to camp. So if you are driving to camp on Sunday, it should be given Sunday morning. If you are traveling from farther away and are starting your trip on Saturday, then the test should be administered on Saturday before you leave home.  

Proof of a negative test will be required for your son’s entry into camp. If you have the Campanion app, just write your son’s name on the negative test, open the “Pre-Camp COVID-19 Test Result,” and take a picture. 

While it is not required, consider testing your camper(s) 3-5 days before traveling to camp, especially if they are (or have been) exhibiting Covid-like symptoms. The benefit of this “pre” pre-camp test is that if your son tests positive, his “covid clock” (the 5 day isolation period) will start earlier and his camp experience will be minimally impacted.

If the camp community remains healthy and COVID-free, we do not intend to employ surveillance testing. 

If one of your son’s cabin mates tests positive, or if your son has had a “high transmission exposure” to someone who tests positive for COVID, your son will have regular check ins with the nurse and will be given a COVID test if he begins to display symptoms.

The success of this summer begins with you, at home. More than ever, the partnership between parents, campers, and staff in the weeks leading up to camp is absolutely critical. We need everyone to arrive healthy!

To the greatest extent possible, campers and members of their households should engage in low-risk behaviors the week before traveling to camp. A rule of thumb is that low-risk behaviors are those that can be done outdoors, in small numbers, and/or with physical distancing.

If your son is flying to camp, we strongly recommend that he wear a mask while in crowded public spaces.

Your communication with us in this event is critical. Please let us know right away so that we can discuss the particulars to ensure a safe and smooth entry to camp, based on individual circumstances. 

In the event that someone in a camper’s household tests positive for Covid-19 during the camp season, we ask for you to inform us right away. We will monitor your son’s health at camp, test as needed, and remain in frequent communication with you at home.

No, but the Kingswood community will have limited interactions beyond the Kingswood community. 

Kingswood has two commuting program instructors. These two excellent local teachers – a physical education instructor and a retired art teacher – are the only two non-residential members of our staff that work in close proximity to campers, and both of these individuals will only teach and interact outdoors. 

Additionally, some members of our kitchen and maintenance teams also live locally. They do not generally have close indoor contact with campers. 

Residential counselors and staff will have the opportunity to leave campus on their days and nights off. Many staff spend their time off in the out-of-doors; and when they go to restaurants, they dine with other Kingswood staff. Currently the Upper Valley (New Hampshire and Vermont) has low case counts; policies will be dictated by local case counts.

Kingswood will be offering tours to camp agents, prospective families, and returning alumni. Any guest who will be interacting with the camp community indoors for a prolonged period of time will be required to take a rapid antigen test upon arrival.

The daily camp schedule will be totally normal. Campers will have free choice of their morning clinics, their afternoon activities, and their evening events. Like last year, for the first few days, all-camp announcements will be made outside, either at the Counsel Fire or from the Pines Field Stage. 

Happily, intercamp tournaments and games are back on the schedule, as are socials with nearby girls camps, contingent on the health of our camp communities.  

If you are dropping your son off at camp, please sign up for a drop-off time. A staggered arrival will make it easier to park at camp, move your son into his cabin, and check in with the nurse. Parents will be allowed in the cabins, but please do not travel to camp if you do not feel well!

First Session Drop Off (June 25th)

Five Weeker Drop Off (July 9th)

Second Session Drop Off (July 23rd)

If your travel plans require you arriving before 9am or after 4pm, please contact us. We will definitely be able to accommodate you. Furthermore, if there is a specific time you MUST arrive and all those time slots are already full, please let us know – we can exceed the number of slots provided in each time period, but prefer a steady flow of arrivals over a mass arrival!

Parents Visiting Day is the final Friday of the first session (July 21st) and second session (August 11th) from 2pm – 6pm. This will be an opportunity for families to both see their sons in their element at camp and to enjoy camp themselves; to swim, take out a boat, enjoy our facilities (tennis, golf, archery, etc), or participate in a parent-camper team sport (soccer, softball, etc.). We love having our families on campus –  meeting our staff, our campers, and other families; experiencing the welcoming Kingswood community firsthand; and seeing how comfortable and at home their sons have become. 

We recognize that while many families really enjoy Parents Day, many families can not attend. All of the camp activities are open to every camper, regardless of whether their parents are in attendance. The final dinner and closing ceremonies are just for the campers, so we ask that all parents leave by 6pm on Friday.

Yes, Kingswood will be offering shuttle service from New York City to Kingswood on Sunday, June 25th and Sunday, July 23rd. Prior to boarding the shuttle, all campers must have submitted their negative antigen test result. Additional details can be found in your CampInTouch account. 

We will also be offering shuttle service from Kingswood to New York City on Saturday, July 22nd and Saturday, August 12th. If you are interested in this option, more information can be found in your CampInTouch account.

Kingswood will be providing shuttle service from Manchester and Boston airport on a limited basis. Please let us know as soon as possible if you will not be able to fly and drive your son to camp and require transportation assistance from the airport.

In consultation with medical experts, and following the best practices described by the CDC and the ACA, Kingswood is developing a comprehensive plan to respond to a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case within our community. These plans address the health and wellbeing of the individual, his or her close contacts, and the community at large. These plans outline how the camp will provide services and on-going care of the sick and his or her close contacts, how the camp will mitigate the risk of infectious spread within the community, and how the camp will communicate to all stakeholders (the infected individual, his or her close contacts, the rest of the campers, counselors and staff; parents of the infected individual, parents of close contacts, and parents of other campers).

While there are certain universal elements – such as our commitment to clear and timely communication, continual care and supervision of infected campers, and mitigation efforts to limit community spread – many decisions will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Specifically, whether a child will be able to isolate at camp or be asked to isolate at home will be based on the following variables: family/camper preference, geographic location of family, severity of sickness, volume of cases within camp, and availability of beds / housing for positive cases. 

These decisions will be made in collaboration with our health professionals and in partnership with our families. We will never compromise the health of any individual within our camp community, nor will we engage in policies which jeopardize the health and wellbeing of our camp community. But if there are circumstances in which we can provide care, supervision, and perhaps even some elements of the camp experience to COVID positive campers, and parents and the camper want to remain at camp, we will work to provide that opportunity. 

Your son may rejoin the camp community and return to normal camp activities when all of the following criteria are met:

• The minimum recommended isolation period is over (five days)
• He is asymptomatic (or his symptoms are improving)
• He has been fever free (without fever reducing medicine) for 24 hours

Your son will be able to continue normal activities unless he becomes symptomatic of COVID-19, in which case he will be tested. As an added safety measure, the cabin group will eat at one of the tables on the porch of the dining hall and will wear masks when indoors in mixed groups (ex. Drum clinic, woodworking, in a van).

• If your son tests positive for COVID on the arrival day test:
  • No refund will be given
  • Your son may join the camp community when all of the following criteria are met:
    • The recommended isolation period is over (five days)
    • He is asymptomatic (or his symptoms are improving)
    • He has been fever free (without fever reducing medicine) for 24 hours  
• If your son tests positive for COVID while at camp:
  • If the recommendation from our medical team is for your son to isolate at camp and then rejoin the camp community after the recommended time, no refund will be given
  • If the recommendation from our medical team is for your son to return home, your son may isolate at home and then rejoin the camp community after meeting the criteria listed above; in this case, no refund will be given. Alternatively, if your son goes home (during the first half of your son’s stay) and does not return, you will receive a 50% refund
• If camp does not open in 2023, families will be entitled to a full refund or may choose to rollover any funds already paid to the following summer. Refunds will be made within a year of the decision to close.
• If Kingswood must close during a session:
  • If the closure occurs in the first half of your son’s session, Kingswood will offer to refund 50% of tuition.
  • If the closure happens in the second half of your son’s session, there will be no refund.

Kingswood is committed to keeping parents informed and being as transparent about the health of our community as possible. However, private information will be protected, as required by HIPAA policies. 

Kingswood will contact parents by phone if:

• Your son is displaying symptoms of COVID-19 and our health care team believes a COVID test is needed.
• Your son has tested positive for COVID-19
  • Kingswood will continue to be in regular direct communication with parents until the camper can be picked up from camp or until his isolation period is complete

Kingswood will contact parents by email or text if / when:

• If your son receives a negative result on a COVID test
• Your son has a “high transmission exposure” to a person who tests positive for  COVID-19
• The camp has three or more positive cases within the community

Kingswood families must contact the camp if:

• Your son or any of his close contacts test positive for COVID in the ten days prior to his arrival at camp.
• Any close contacts of your son (parents, siblings, etc.) test positive for COVID within the first week of camp

Your communication with us in this event is critical. Please let us know right away so that we can discuss the particulars to ensure a safe and smooth entry to camp, based on individual circumstances. 

In the event that someone in a camper’s household tests positive for Covid-19 during the camp season, we ask for you to inform us right away. We will monitor your son’s health at camp, test as needed, and remain in frequent communication with you at home.